Chapter 36: Opening Press Conference

With the hot screening of *On the Beach at Night Alone*, the topics surrounding Li Xiaoran, Tian Zhuangzhuang, and Cao Yang were growing more and more numerous.

Among them, everything about Li Xiaoran was praise—praise for her acting, praise for her beauty, and some public intellectuals even started to tout Li Xiaoran as a representative of independent women.

Just acting in a movie makes you an independent woman of the new era?

Inexplicable.

Regarding Old Tian, the discussions in some tabloids and online were mainly about pitying him, saying that if it weren't for the years of being banned from directing, he would have long since become a great director famous at home and abroad, like the National Master and Kaige.

They even provided proof: a certain coal boss boasted in front of the media that he had invested in this film and only coughed up the money because of Tian Zhuangzhuang—if it weren't his own film, why would Tian Zhuangzhuang be so attentive?

A junior student knows nothing about film; he was just pushed out as a puppet, and Old Tian was the true mastermind.

From this, they cut to the point and started attacking the censorship system, blah, blah, blah...

Regarding Cao Yang, there were two types of opinions.

One type believed that Cao Yang was just a nominal director and that it was actually shot by Tian Zhuangzhuang. How could a junior student shoot such a good film?

The other type believed that Cao Yang was incredibly lucky. Look at those straightforward, simple shots—constantly fixed push-pulls, fixed ultra-long takes. Who couldn't do that? If it weren't for running into Li Xiaoran, whose acting was god-tier, let alone a Silver Bear, he wouldn't even have made it into the main competition section.

There were even quite a few directors calling out in the media, wanting to cooperate with Li Xiaoran, hoping to chase the highest award at the three major European festivals together.

The implication was: give me a Li Xiaoran, and I can do it too, and I can do it even better.

This time, the opening press conference for *3-Iron* attracted a huge number of media outlets.

Before the press conference, production manager Cheng Jianye asked Cao Yang if they should screen the media to avoid a situation that would be hard to control later.

Cao Yang had originally thought about screening them, but then he thought: if you screen them, won't the media blocked outside the venue report on it anyway?

It was better to let them in and keep them under control.

Sure enough, at the *3-Iron* opening press conference, apart from the local Ludong Island media asking some relevant questions, most of the others asked about things outside the film.

Tian Zhuangzhuang didn't attend today's press conference. He figured there would be trouble, so he simply chose not to see it to keep his peace of mind.

Besides, as an artistic director, why the hell would he attend an opening press conference?

So the scene was Cao Yang leading a group of actors.

Yu Feihong had some fame, but it wasn't large; there was nothing worth reporting.

Liu Ye? Didn't know him; not worth taking up space.

Wu Qihua—many reporters knew him. He was Fang Tangjing from *Hail the Judge*, the one who was quite punchable. Of course, what was even more impressive were the artistic films like *Sex and Zen*...

This could be mentioned slightly; it might increase newspaper sales.

"Cao Dao, the shots you used in *On the Beach at Night Alone* were very straightforward. May I ask if this new film will still insist on the original style?"

This was a reporter from Sina Entertainment. The question was still relatively related to the new film and was considered quite friendly.

Cao Yang smiled and replied: "When I shot *On the Beach at Night Alone*, I had just finished my sophomore year. You might not know, but before our sophomore year, we only learn the basics, so when I shot the film, I only knew these basic things."

"Ah?" The Sina Entertainment reporter didn't expect Cao Yang to say that.

"I'm a junior now, and I've learned a lot of professional knowledge, so for this film, I will apply the professional knowledge I've learned."

"Did you forget that this is a student practice film, a test and application of what we've learned? You can just watch and see if I can apply what I've learned flexibly."

This is a joke, right?

Many reporters smiled, playing along with the joke. "Cao Dao, some people say *On the Beach at Night Alone* was shot by Director Tian Zhuangzhuang. Is that true?"

Cheng Jianye stood up, wanting to stop this baseless claim, but he was pressed back down by Cao Yang just as he stood up.

"Yes, you're right. Tian Zhuangzhuang was the cinematographer for this film; those shots were definitely shot by him."

Cao Yang said with a smile: "You can also report directly, saying that those simple and straightforward shots were all shot by Tian Zhuangzhuang. I'd quite like to see what his expression will be then."

"Haha..."

Many people laughed. Everyone knew Tian Zhuangzhuang was a Fifth Generation director, and this generation of directors was best at playing tricks with the camera. Those who knew wouldn't think it was Old Tian's idea.

"Cao Dao, some people say that *On the Beach at Night Alone* winning two Silver Bears was entirely Li Xiaoran's credit. What is your view on this?"

Cheng Jianye couldn't hold back anymore. He picked up the microphone and reminded them: "Dear reporter friends, this is the opening press conference for *3-Iron*. Pay attention, it's the opening press conference. Please do not ask unrelated questions. Thank you for your cooperation."

"Alright, I'll answer this last question. The remaining eager reporter friends, please don't add to the chaos. Let's not treat the *3-Iron* opening press conference as a celebration party for *On the Beach at Night Alone*, okay?"

As Cao Yang finished this sentence, the reporters below all laughed, and the atmosphere eased up a lot.

No matter what, asking such an awkward question, and the director didn't get angry and answered every question—this was already giving them a lot of face.

!

"Li Xiaoran's acting in *On the Beach at Night Alone* is something everyone has witnessed, and it also won her the first Berlin Best Actress award for the mainland."

Cao Yang set the tone first, then continued: "But to say it was entirely her credit isn't quite right. After all, the film didn't just have her; there were other actors and staff. If it weren't for these people, she wouldn't have been able to act, right?"

"How much of the credit is yours, Cao Dao?" a reporter shouted.

Cao Yang smiled and counted on his fingers, one by one.

"The film was directed by me, the project was initiated by me, the script was written by me, and her role as the female lead was decided by me... How much do you think I can claim? Alright, let's get to the main topic."

The opening press conference for *3-Iron* almost became a special session for *On the Beach at Night Alone*, but in the end, it was still controllable.

The reporters didn't expect Cao Yang to answer every question. Since the director was so accommodating, they couldn't be too tactless. After all, it wasn't the paparazzi era yet; everyone was a person who understood social etiquette.

Of course, this was only on the surface. Don't think the reporters of this time were weak. The reporters of this era wrote articles scolding people by name, quite directly.

Which big star hadn't been scolded by name? Which director hadn't been scolded by name? Including the National Master and Kaige, they were all directly attacked to their faces; they were scolding you.

Actually, the larger media outlets were quite friendly to Cao Yang. This era was very tolerant of young people.

A student director in his twenties—no matter why he succeeded, even the most jealous people, without definitive evidence, would at most make a few sarcastic remarks; they couldn't possibly come down to the field and attack him to his face.

Why? Just because he was young, and because he was a student at the Beijing Film Academy.

Of course, this didn't mean the media wouldn't report it. They wouldn't name him, but they could use another form.

For example, they could interview a passerby and use the passerby's mouth to say some things they wanted to say.

As for how this passerby just happened to say what they wanted, that could only be said to be a coincidence.

In addition, they could add some specific words, such as "it is said," "it is rumored"...

Don't think too highly of ordinary media, and don't think too poorly of them. Having a bias is normal; it's about interests. Just treat it with a normal heart.

Thank you again, brothers, for the monthly tickets and recommendations. Thank you, thank you!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 37 =====